The 2022 World Cup was a tournament filled with quality and drama, and not many matches personified this more than the quarter-final match between Argentina and the Netherlands in Doha.
La Albiceleste led 2-0 going into the dying stages, but two late goals from Wout Weghorst saw the match go to extra time, and ultimately penalties. In the end, Argentina emerged victorious in the shoot-out.
The match, referred by the now-retired Antonio Mateu Lahoz, was also filled with plenty of controversy, and speaking at an awards ceremony earlier this week (via MD), Louis van Gaal, who was the Dutch’s head coach for the match, believes that the match was rigged in Argentina’s favour.
“When you saw how Argentina scores their goals and how we score our goals. You saw how some Argentine players crossed the line without being penalised by the referee. I think it was all a premeditated match.”
Argentina went on to win the World Cup by defeating Croatia in the semi-finals and France in the final, and they were spearheaded by former Barcelona star Lionel Messi, who finally won his first World Cup. He, like the rest of his international teammates, are unlikely to be overly fazed by van Gaal’s remarks.
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